The generosity of spirit that was Cliff Rigsbee has been remembered daily by family, friends and athletes — serious and casual — since the death of the firefighter and triathlon champion 13 months ago.

For more than three decades, the two-time winner of the Tinman was a permanent fixture with “the people’s triathlon” as a competitor, volunteer, clinician and coach. His influence can be measured in meters and kilometers, as are the legs of the race that will be run for the 37th time on Sunday, measured by the improvement in times in either the 250-meter swim, the 40-kilometer bike or the 10-kilometer run, or the improvement in attitude when learning to enjoy the camaraderie of fellow racers.

Rigsbee officially becomes a permanent fixture this weekend with the renaming of the event in his honor. His memory also becomes a permanent fixture on the the bike and run portions of the course with the dedication of a two-bowl drinking fountain and hose bib on the Diamond Head Road side of Operation Red Wings Medal of Honor Park (Triangle Park).

“It is so fitting on so many levels,” said Peter Hursty, a four-time Tinman champion and co-founder of HR Training along with Rigsbee. “He won it, but that pales in comparison to how much he did over the years, how much he did for over 1,000 athletes. He was so giving, so selfless.

“A fountain is a fantastic idea. That park is widely used by so many races, the marathon, the Tinman, every race that’s been important here.

“The Tinman is known as ‘the people’s race.’ Cliff was ‘the people’s guy.’”

Hursty, a former University of Hawaii swimmer (1991-94), and Rigsbee coached together for nearly 20 years after establishing HR Training in 1997. The two were going to compete in the Leadville (Colo.) 100-mile mountain bike race when the 63-year-old Rigsbee died following a rough-water training accident off Diamond Head on June 16.

“Personally, it was a shock,” said Hursty, a Hawaiian Airlines pilot. “We were training every other day, going on one- to four-hour rides … we spent a lot of time together, were close friends.

“I went to Colorado with Michael Bennett. We picked up Cliff’s race packet. We didn’t finish the race. We’ve qualified for it in 2018 and we’ll be doing it for Cliff.”

Competing for “Cliff” is the reason that firefighters Javen Kekoa Cuban, Parker Babcock and Aaron Bechard will be competing as a relay team on Sunday, their first time in the Tinman.

“I was never stationed with him but was about to train with him when I went to his (Station 7 in Waikiki),” said Cuban, who is at Station 37 in Kahaluu. “He was the nicest guy. However he could help you, he did.

“When we caught wind that they were renaming the race for him, that’s when the idea of making a team happened. I felt I wanted to support the organization. When something happens to a firefighter, even just an injury, you realize that it could happen to any of us. We’re one big family. We’re representing that.”

Jenni Cooney, Rigsbee’s significant other for more than a decade, is one of the speakers at Saturday’s fountain dedication. Rigsbee had stopped competing in triathlons and transitioned into “adventure races” such as the 150-mile run-cycle-paddle Coast to Coast across South Island in Cooney’s native New Zealand.

“He was one of only four over the age of 60 in the Coast to Coast last year and he wasn’t daunted by that,” Cooney said. “He didn’t finish within the 24 hours, but the next day he came back and signed up to do it.

“He was a phenomenal athlete, but he was an exceptional man. He was the love of my life.”

Note

The water fountain is being funded through donations. So far, $11,275 of the needed $25,000 has been raised. www.gofundme.com/ironmanrigs.